Aeroplane.



Q F. WONDRA.

1 AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I9. I909. RENITWED MAY 29.19171 1,250,262. Patented Dc. 13,1917.

3 sums-sun 1.

1 WITNESSES: v l/VI E/VTOR 0 m S MMWL G F. WONDRA. AEROPLANE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, I909. RENEWED MAY 29. I917- Patented Dec. 18, 1917- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOH dmdimmd.

F. WONDRA.

AEROPLA'NE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 19, I209. RENEWED MAY 29. 1917.-

' Patented De0,18,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- WITNESSES:

' IAYIVEIVTOB Schenectady, in the county of FRANZ WONDRA, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YOR K.

Application filed March 19, 1909, Serial No. 484,580. Renewed May To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that I, FRANZ WONDRA, a citizen of the United States, residing in Schenectady and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanesof which the following is a specifi- 1 catlon.

The invention relates to an improved aeroplane and is in the nature of an improvement of a flying-machine shown and described in my Patent No. 876,125, Jan. 7, 1908.

The objects ofthis invention are to provide means for automatically maintaining the longitudinal and lateral stability of the aeroplane, to increase the lifting effect of increase of absorptlon the sustaining surfaces without power, to aflord facilities for the of the wind sts and further to provide a structure'com ining lightness with strength, and certain novel features which will be more fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims. v. I attain these objects by the shapes and arrangements of th of the aeroplane also with super through: the line of resistance of gether by transverse spars, forming thus a Figure 1 is a side view of the entire aeroplane; Fig. 2 is a plane view of the same partly broken away; Fig.3 is a rear view partly broken away; Fig. 4 is a outline side osed planes; Fig. 5 are sections of one of t e planes at different, cross ribs, and Fig. 6 is a side view ofone of the cross n S v v The aeroplane consists of a plurality of inclined planes (three in this-case) arrangedin succession and in gradation, the first "plane being the lowest, two propellersplaced one above another under and above the rear plane and located so that the thrust comes ratus, a short plane, placed above the upper a motor placed near the center of theapparatus, aseat for the operator, a shifting gondola, a r g truck, steering gears and floats. The supporting main frame 1 is made of steel tubing or wood and comprises two pairs of parallel tubes or y so as to suit the 10- of gravity frame *b'ody quadrangular in cross section.

AEROPLANE.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

e planes and mechanism. illustrated in the accompanying drawings in view of the aeroplane the appaincidence and the than the middle Patented Dec. 18, 191?. 2.9; 1917.- Serial No. 1711763.-

To this central frame. are fastened upright standards or struts 2, extending upwardly and downwardly, which serve to support the different parts of the apparatus. The lowest endsof these struts are connected by horizontal tubes or spars 3, which bear the running gears, time as guideways for the shifting gondola. Between the middle plane and the shifting gondola is built in the main framev an engine-bed 4 and platform 5.

In the front of rudder 6 s0 supported as to turn around its vertical axis inthe center of its area.

On the transverse members between the standards, of the last plane are supported bearings for the propeller" shafts and drivin gears. t.

The shapeof the planes, 7, 7 7 can be readily seen from the drawings. On the transverse rib 8, which is main frame and supported are fastened wooden cross ribs .10, equally spaced.

The front margin of the plane is convex in plan view, the rear'margin from the middle of the plane is concave and shorter than the front margin and both are connected by a short concave margin on both ends. The edges of the plane are tapering from the center toward their ends. The transverse rib can be placed at right angles to the main frame. Each plane is made of two halves like a wing of a bird and each half is atfloats and serve at the same,

the frame is mounted the I attached to the by stay wires 9,-

tached separately to the frame and standards. QThe curvature of the wooden cross ribs can be seen in-Fig. 5.

Each plane is inclined the planetoward its ends.

front edge is with respect to the horizontal bent down from the longest cross-rib and the rear edge is bent upward. propeller, a rudder under the front plane,

All the planes are alike in shape but different in A the inclination and area. The

front plane is thesmallest one with the at a suitable angle- 'of incidence to the line of motion and the Qinclinationis decreasing from the middle of The plane is vslightly curved in lateral direction and the,

transverse rib of the last plane.

plane higher than the second. The distance between the second and third planes is greater than between the first and second planes. The objects of this adjustment will be more fully described hereinafter. There are three planes employed but two or more planes will obtain the same effect.

The rear plane is'cut out on account of the upper propeller and an additional short plane 11 is placed above the upper propeller to compensate for the lost surface. A narrow plane may be also placed under the lower propeller. I

The arrangement for forming the sustaining surfaces bystretching cloth or other suitable material over the wooden ribs can be seen in Fig. 6.

The cloth of each plane is cut approximately to the size and shape of the plane, light steel tubes or wooden spars are sewed into the lateral margins of the plane. The

ribs have on both ends metallic hulls-12, to

fit the said marginal tubes or spars and the so stretched cloth is fastened by the clamps 13, underneath the wooden ribs. The wire 14; connects the both clamps securing thus the given curvature of each'rib.

The cross ribs are secured to the transverse main rib by metallic joints 15. Each plane is supported by stay wires 16 and'by fastening the second cross ribs to the main frame in their given inclination to the hori-- zontal. For large size apparatus two transverse ribs should be employed and for covering the planes metal sheets should be used.

The aeroplane is driven against the air by two superposed propellers 17, revolving in opposite directions in the rear of the The propellers are placedunder a plane and are therefore more etlicient. Rotary motion is imparted from the motor- 18 to the shaft of the lower propeller and transmitted from the same to the shaft of the upper propeller by means of gears on shafts, or other power transmitting means.

The steering of the aeroplane to right or left is accomplished by a rudder 6, stiffened by wire 19 and placed under the front plane, so supported as to turn around a vertical axls near the center of its area. The rudder is operated by the operator from the seat 20, by the hand-wheel 21, which is fastened to a tubular rod with a bevel gear 22 on its lower end. The connecting rod 23 is equipped with a bevel gear 21 which meshes with gear 22 and on the other end, is a worm 25 which meshes with the worn-gear 26 fastened on the vertical axis of the rudder.

Thls arrangement secures easy control of the rudder, which also serves, being always locked in desired position, to the line of flight, for maintaining the lateral stability of the aeroplane.

The steering in the vertical direction isaccomplished by changing the center of gravity of the aeroplane by means of shifting the gondola 27 forward or backward on the wheels 28 along the guideways 3, which connectthe upright struts of the main frame.

The position of the sliding gondola is changed by the handwheel 29, which is mounted above thehandwheel 21 on a tubular rod passing through the first wheelrod.

rope 35. The said rope passes over suitable guide pulleys at the front and rear of the lower frame and is attached to the ends of the gondola, so that the same can be moved in one or the opposite direction according to the motion of the handwheel. Any kind of ballast can be placed in the gondola.

The horizontal and vertical steering of the aeroplane can be accomplished more quickly and effectively by the mechanisms shown and described in my Patent No. 876,125, which are driven by the motor of the apparatus and which devices I intend to employ in this apparatus.

I will now describe the means for automatically maintaining the equilibrium of the aeroplane and how the lifting effect of the planes is increased.

lVhen the propellers force the inclined planes against the air, the air strikes the surface and is deflected downward, rushing in the opposite direction toward the rear of the aeroplane. As there was power applied to move the air stratum from the front edge toward the rear edge, the air will flow out over the rear edge 'with certain velocity. \Vhen the inclined plane cuts and deflects the air downward, the atmospheric pressure above the plane is decreased, the air sinks and glides down over the'upper convex surface of the plane. The air; under the plane being deflected downward is compressed and has the tendency to flow over the rear edge of the plane in an upward direction. The air stream from above the plane changes, the direction of the air stream coming from below thjeplane, both streams uniting withthe tendency to rush gradually upward. As the plane is driven against the air continuously the air stream is deflected to an oblique direction, whereby the combined air streams strikes the front part of the next plane.

The second plane, being placed higher above the horizontal than the front plane, receives a quiet layer of air from above the front plane and at the same time the obliquely rushing air; stream which has already the air 1n the form passed over the front plane. As the oblique air stream strikes the second plane at a higher'angle producing thus more lift, the

- angle -of incidence of the second plane can be smaller and requires therefore less power to be driven against the air.

The distance between the planes gives the and requires smaller angle of incidence,

which requires again less power.

Also the fact that the propellers revolve in the rear plane, thus producing suction, adds greatly to the sustaining capacity of the rear plane.

As the inertia of the air is more effective than the velocity, the rear of the aeroplane are .of increased area. This arrangement of planes is first to secure longitudinal stability of the aeroplane automaticallyjbecause all windgusts striking the first planes strike all other succeeding planes whereby the lifting effect is equalized.

The other advantage of this arrangement is to increase the lifting capacity per horsepower. Motor energy was spent' to drive the plane at a given angle of incidence against the air. Only a fraction of this energy can be changed into actual work on a single plane and the rest is taken off by of velocity to the sucit is utilized.

of the plane diminishes ceeding planes where As the inclination toward its tips the air will have the tendency I that the flow of V the least.

esca es near the tips of the planes and more placed to leave the plane This will cause that more air rapi ly than in the middle of the plane. The rear edges of the plane are placed at a diedral angle to each other.

serve to maintain the the aeroplane.

Also the fact' that the planes have their largest area in the middle in the line where the propellers revolve and that the rudder in front while the propellers are 1n the rear of the aeroplane, serve a great deal to maintain the lateral stability.

The tips of the planes having sharp points split the windgusts'before they can strike the plane.

Another advantage of the apparatus is the air from one plane to the other isn'ot interrupted or disturbed by the propelling devices, being therefore more lateral stability of the planes placed toward where the inclination is These arrangements efficient; further thepropellers revolve under a plane thereby preventing the air from falling from above the aeroplane into the revolving wings of the propeller thus producing more suction. The whirls of air from thepropellers do not strike any surface, which also increases the efliciency of the aeroplane.

A wire cable 36 which is fastened to the supporting main-frame connects the tips of the planes, holding thus the planes in given position with respect to the center of the apparatus.

To increase the supporting area of the aeroplane without increase of size of the apparatus, I intend to employ groups of superposed planes arranged in series and having a plurality of planes of the same shape and inclination asthe single plane at the location of which the group of planes is placed. The planes of the middle group are set wider apart than in the front group and in the rear group wider than in the middle group.

The planes in'ea'ch group are placed in such a way that the air current which strikes the planes in one group is caught up by the planes of the nextgroup.

The running gears 37 and the floats 38 give theaeroplane facilities to start or alight on firm ground or water. v

For small size apparatus only one propeller can be employed, arranged so that the thrust comes through" the line of resistance of the aeroplane. The shifting of the gondola serves also to adjust the center of gravity to the center of pressure.

Having thus described 'my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a flying machine, the combinationof a supporting frame, a plurality of sustalning planes attached in succession and gradation to said frame, the front plane being 1n normal High the lowest, the succeeding planes being placed higher above the honzontal than the front plane, the angle of 1ncidence of the planes being different, said planes being longitudinally spaced from each other, and means for against the air. g

2. In a flying machine,'the combination of a main supporting frame, a plurality of sustaining planes attached in'succession and gradat1on to said frame, the front plane being in normal flight the lowest, the sucdrivi ng the planes ceeding planes being placed higher above the horizontal than the front plane, the angle of incidence of the planes'being different, said planes being longitudinally spaced from each other, a propeller for driving said planes against the air mounted in the rear of said frame, and means for actuating said propeller.

3. A flying machine having a supporting frame a plurality of sustaining planes attached gradiently thereto, the front plane being normally the lowest one, said planes being spaced longitudinally from each other, two superposed propellers mounted in the rear of said frame below and above the rear plane in combination with means for driving said propellers. 4:. A flying machine having a plurality of gradiently arranged supporting surfacesextending upward toward the rear, said surfaces being of different area and having different angles of incidence, in combination with means for driving said planes against the air.

5. In a flying machine having a supporting frame, a plurality of fixed sustaining planes of different area attached thereto, and extending gradiently upward toward the rear of said frame, the angle of incidence of said planes being different on each plane and means for propelling said planes against the air.

6. In a flying machine, a supporting frame,

a plurality of sustaining planes attached gradiently thereto, the front plane having the largest angle of incidence and the angle all} I 1,250,262

of incidence ofthe successive planes decreasing to the rear in combination with means for propelling said planes against the air.

7. In a flying machine, the combination of a supporting frame, a plurality of gradiently arranged sustaining planes extending upward toward the rear attached to said frame, said planes being spaced longitudinally from each other, the spaces between the planes being gradually increasing toward the rear, and means for driving the planes against the air.

8. A flying machine having a supporting frame, groups of superposed planes attached thereto, the planes in each group being spaced vertically from each other and the vertical space increasing in each group toward ther-rear of the machine, the angle of incidence of the planes in each group being different in each group and means for driving said groups of planes against the air.

9. In a flying-machine a sustaining plane having parallel crossribs, said ribs having hulls on both ends adapted to support the marginal spars of said plane, clamps holding the said spars in said hulls, the opposite ends of each rib being connected by a tension wire substantially as set forth and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

FRANZ WoNnRA;

Witnesses MAHALAH AVERILL, CHAS. NIELSEN. 

